FOR METICULOUS MEN, there are few accessories as coveted—and expensive—as shoes made from shell cordovan leather, a material prized for its durability, shine and resistance to creasing.

Lately, however, those looking to buy a pair have required not only deep pockets, but also an enormous amount of patience. Even if you are willing to part with $2,000 for a pair of navy oxfords by English shoemaker Edward Green, you will have to wait six months or longer to possess a pair.

A global shortage of cordovan over the past couple of years has caused a backlog of orders. Worse yet, the crimped supply came as demand for the pricey shoes spiked thanks to renewed interest in haute-crafted men's shoes.

Shell cordovan leather comes from the muscle beneath the hide in a small area around the rump of a horse. The shell is a layer of very dense fibers that, after a lengthy tanning process, yields leather that is particularly shiny and durable. When cordovan shoes scuff, a simple rub will erase the scratch. But since its ancient discovery by the Moors in the Spanish city of Cordoba (the town from which its name is derived), the material has been far scarcer than cow leather. A single horse provides only enough cordovan for a single pair of shoes.

Adding to its cost is a long processing time. At Horween Leather in Chicago, a major supplier to brands like Alden and Allen Edmonds, cordovan takes six months to tan. To compare, its Chromexcel leather made from adult cows takes just 28 days to finish. Finished cordovan can cost up to 10 times more than high-quality steer leather.

The current shortage only piles onto that baseline scarcity, and its effects are being felt all over. At Leffot, a high-end men's shoe store in New York, many luxury brands only offer their cordovan shoes made-to-order. While the shop stocks several styles by American label Alden, which start at $750, a pair of black seamless oxfords by shoemaker Saint Crispin's, which will set you back $2,400, take 10 weeks to arrive.

‘A pair of black seamless oxfords by shoemaker Saint Crispin's, which will set you back $2,400, take 10 weeks to arrive.’

The Armoury, a men's boutique in Hong Kong, was forced to cut the wide range of styles it once carried from Spanish shoemaker Carmina to focus on a few that it could actually physically have in stock. "[The rest] just took forever," said Alan See, the store's founder. And Colin Hall, the chief marketing officer at Allen Edmonds, cited delays of up to a month for a pair of black oxfords.

As for the cause of the shortage, the answer lies in the complex dynamics of the hide market. The cordovan supply is determined by the consumption of horse meat, explained Nick Horween, the company's 30-year-old vice president and the fifth generation in his family's business. A century ago, when horses were still common transportation and horse meat was widely eaten, hides were plentiful.

But today, with world-wide consumption of equine flesh declining, hides are limited. Mr. Horween estimated that the company processes just 15% of the horsehide it used to take in when his ancestors started the company in 1905.

The cordovan shortage hit hard in late 2012. Suddenly, the raw shells stopped arriving at Mr. Horween's tannery. He described the supply drop as a "cyclical interruption," though he declined to elaborate further, citing sensitive supplier relations.

In the clubby world of men's high fashion, there are rumors and theories. Some blame hide speculators who snapped up skins as the price of leather was about to rise. Others point to Chinese shoe manufacturers, saying they bought up entire horsehides—which include both the coveted small rear shell pieces and the cheaper and larger front pieces—in lieu of more expensive steer hide when prices for the latter spiked to historic highs in 2012. However, there is little proof of either.

Matthew Abbott, technical sales director at tannery Joseph Clayton & Sons Ltd., based in Chesterfield, England, said the supply of hides was also hurt by a horse-meat scandal last year in the U.K. "There was nothing wrong with the meat, just that it was misidentified," he said. "But I suppose people didn't want anything to do with horse for a while."

Nevertheless, there is a glimmer of hope for those seeking a pair of loafers or oxfords. Mr. Horween reported that the hide supply began to return to pre-drought levels at the end of the last year, which means cordovan supplies for shoemakers may soon be back to normal. His advice to covetous shoppers: Sit tight. More is coming soon. That doesn't quite mean that cordovan shoes will be plentiful, however. "It's still not as much as the market wants," said Mr. Horween.

I think there are those on this thread that are confusing the issue. Horses are not slaughtered either humanely or inhumanely for their hides. What happens to a horse after their end of life event, whatever that might be, is irrelevant. Any argument to connect these two topics is like not using donated organs if someone is murdered.

Shell cordovan is a beautiful leather that shows the elegance of the horse long after their life ends.

Gary Best (?) you are wrong in what you state as fact. You are entitled to your opinions, but recent findings of fossilized bones in several locations prove the indigenous history of the equine in North America. Referring to these horses as "old nags" really reveals the depth of your ignorance though. I gentled an American Mustang from Northeastern AZ and count him as one of my best mounts, and out of about 25 horses in the past ten years, that's a lot of good competition. The American Mustang is frequently more intelligent, stable and will have far less medical and confirmation issues than any other breed due to Natural Selection. As I've stated in previous posts to this thread, the wild horses are the ones who never hold their heads still for accurate stunning and the meat of these tortured horses contains extremely high levels of adrenaline---one of the reasons why horse meat is considered a lower quality meat that deteriorates quickly and ends up in scandalous places.

You know...I seem to recall that there are thousands of wild horses roaming around the Southwestern states that are not indigenous and negatively impact the environment for other species survival. If we were to "harvest" these old nags, the prices would free fall...I could get 2-3 pair...cheap.

I bought a pair of burgundy Gucci leather oxford shoes recently...my first pair of fancy shoes. I love the shine -- I'm kind of obsessed with it...I think I want to buy a pair of black patent leather shoes now to use instead.

For meticulous men. You're joking, right? First of all, if these 'meticulous men' knew the history behind these horses' lives and death, they wouldn't dare show their faces in public wearing these shoes. And second, wearing horse hide shoes is only for men who are too gutless to ride! Horses are pets, companion animals, amazing majestic beasts who run like the wind!! But if you are too gutless to ride, then I guess you could cut them up into little pieces and wear them for shoes. But that's only for losers.

Matthew Abbot is a complete idiot and puppet to his industry to make that unqualified statement! I am surprised this reputable periodical published it in this article without a rebuttal!

There most certainly is "something wrong" with horse meat worldwide: It is summarily unregulated and contains dozens of chemicals, medications and drugs scientifically known to cause illness and disease in humans when consumed! That is the main reason why the EU just revised their standards with regard to commercial horse meat production and they are no longer accepting meat from horses originating in the U.S. Any horse that has been put through regular handing and use should never be considered for human or other species consumption, period. And the wild, untrained or under-trained horses are horrible prospects because correct stunning of them is near impossible, resulting in all the documentation of abuse that happens. The meat produced from those kills is riddled with huge amounts of adrenaline.

I hope no horse is ever slaughtered for a pair of shoes. Most horses who are terminally ill/injured in the U.S. are euthanized by their owners. These hides could be bought from the rendering plant. If horses are dying to fulfill a foolish rich man's image, that is plain wrong.

This is great news!!! Horse hide was widely available in the years that
man used the equine species in daily life for all methods of survival.
Now, commercial horse slaughter is a horribly inhumane and unnecessary
'industry' run by unscrupulous men for the profit of very few. The
captive bolt and also the shotgun are frequently ineffective at stunning
domesticated horses and are completely ineffective at achieving that in
wild, untrained or under-trained horses. These animals witness their
own vivisection, which is a horrible end to a life of service to man. If
these manufacturers want this type of leather, they need to find a way
to cull it from rendering plants where horse carcasses are disposed of
after horses are humanely chemically euthanized. With their horse meat
market for cheap meat distributed in Europe and Asia deflating, the
practice of immoral men continuing to torture horses for fresh meat and
hides is finally being extinguished in civilized society worldwide.

Back in the late 1950s cordovan shoes were cheap enough that we wore them in military school because you could polish them until they looked like they were coated with liquid glass. Great for passing inspections.

For more years than I would like to recall I owned several pairs of Cordovan shoes and before I retired wore one of them almost every day. They went with everything except a tux, were strong and supportive, always looked nice and were indestructible. The shoes were always pricy but they just lasted forever and I thought they were a good value. I still were a pair occasionally and they're now all close to forty years old and still look good.

@Gary Best@Karin Hauenstein None. Since you want to get all personal here, why don't you come out from behind your avatar and tell us all about yourself! Better yet, spend an hour actually researching the issue you are crapping all over and then make more statements.

Karin, welcome to the WSJ world of commenting. I didn't realize you were a neophyte. I read an article about shoes and I see horse people in the comments going bananas. I baited a hook, threw it out there ...and bang, zoom, you took it-hook, line, and sinker. But seriously, I've been to your webpage and you look like you do wonderful things, and best of all you're doing what you love. I offer my respect and admiration.

Me, I'm an engineer and pretty much follow logic and science, so I don't really buy into your horse meat arguments(literally, but to each their own) and let's be clear the horse was brought to the new world by the Spanish explorers-enough of the fossil evidence garbage.

If we ever get to the point where the welfare of wild horses is of primary concern in our society, then I'd say we've done pretty well, but realistically that's a ways off in the future, if ever. Lastly, who says a horse wants to be "gentled", euphemism for breaking.

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